Take it with a grain of sale (we do), but researchers at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine funded by the National Institutes of Health, say that the offspring of rats exposed to cannabis were less motivated than offspring of non-THC dosed rats. Their proof? . . . Read Complete Report

A medical marijuana using Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer has kicked off a media storm in Canada this week after publicly admitted his cannabis use while on the job, notably while in the iconic red uniforms Mounties are known for wearing.

Marijuana use for adults 21 and over is legal in Colorado and Washington, but any wannabe toking tourists headed here from other countries might want to keep quiet about it until they get here.

According to reports in the Canadian press, simply admitting to a U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agent that you’ve smoked pot or that you plan to smoke pot apparently can get you turned away at the border — and perhaps permanently banned from the good ol’ U.S. of A because marijuana is still illegal under federal laws. . . Read Complete Report

In just six days on Dec. 5 the Florida Supreme Court will hear arguments on whether or not a proposed medical marijuana initiative already in the signature-gathering process will be allowed to move forward. . . . Read Complete Report

Back in October, we shared with you the Colorado Department of Agriculture’s draft regulations for the growing of industrial hemp. Now, those regulations are official — with one change. Instead of facing a registration suspension or revocation if testing reveals that a grower’s plants exceed 0.3 percent THC, the final rules say that a grower will not be subject to any penalty as long as the “crop is destroyed or utilized in a manner approved of and verified by” the state agriculture commissioner.

The votes this past November in Colorado and Washington to regulate marijuana for adults have sparked a fire of change that seems to be spreading across the country. This month, both state and federal legislatures will return to work to kick off the 2013 legislative session and it is already shaping up to be one of the busiest in recent memory for marijuana reformers. Bills are already slated to be introduced in states such as Alabama, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Texas – with many more to be introduced in the coming weeks. It is very likely that on top of federal legislation coming down the pipeline, nearly two dozen marijuana reform measures will also be introduced across the country in various states. NORML will be providing you withAction Alerts as new bills are introduced, easily allowing you to contact your elected officials and ask them to support these important reform measures. . . . Read Complete Report

Adults with a history of marijuana use have a lower prevalence of type 2 diabetes and possess a lower risk of contracting the disease than those with no history of cannabis consumption, according to clinical trial data published in the British Medical Journal.

Investigators at the University of California, Los Angeles assessed the association between diabetes mellitus (DM) and marijuana use among adults aged 20 to 59 in a nationally representative sample of the US population of 10,896 adults. The study included four groups: non-marijuana users (61.0%), past marijuana users (30.7%), light (one to four times/month) (5.0%) and heavy (more than five times/month) current marijuana users (3.3%). Diabetes was defined based on self-report or abnormal glycaemic parameters. . . . Read Complete Report

This week: Colorado’s Amendment 64 would bring in big revenue for the state, Grand Rapids will be voting on marijuana decriminalization, and Arkansas’ medical marijuana initiative qualifies for the ballot.